Saturday, March 29, 2014

Knitting Book Reviews -

Knitalong

Celebrating the Tradition of Knitting Together -

Larissa Brown, Martin John Brown

4 Stars

ABOUT THE BOOK -

The immensely popular knitalong—an organized event where people knit
together for a common goal—has only grown with the explosion of the
Internet. Yesterday’s wartime Red Cross sock drives have evolved into
today’s meet-ups at locales as diverse as cafes, state fairs, and major
league ballparks, as well as international online gatherings; in fact,
at any given time tens of thousands of people worldwide are involved in
knitalongs, organized around a particular yarn, a favorite social
cause, an intriguing project, a special event, or myriad other themes.

Authors
Larissa Brown and Martin John Brown present an inspiring look at
centuries of people knitting together, and why knitters find the
interaction so meaningful and worthwhile. Along the way, they offer 20
projects especially suited for different types of knitalongs. The Barn
Raising Quilt and the Traveling Scarf, for instance, call on individual
knitters to collaborate on a single project; while the Pinwheel Blanket
and the Meathead Hat encourage a community of knitters to improvise on
the same pattern to come up with a variety of results. Also included
is essential information about finding, joining, and starting
knitalongs.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS -

Larissa Brown is a writer and fiber artist whose artwork has been featured in Fiberarts and Knit.1
magazines and exhibited in New York, Seattle, Boston, and her hometown
of Portland, Oregon. See her art at www.larissabrown.net and read her
blog at http://larissmix.typepad.com/.

Martin John Brown is a freelance
writer whose work has appeared in MAKE, Sierra, Air &
Space/Smithsonian, and American Spirit. Together Larissa and Martin
wrote the business book Demystifying Grant Seeking.

MY REVIEW - This was kind of an interesting book. It was not what I thought. Well... I'm not sure what I thought it was going to be. I have to admit, I have never joined a knitalong. I have always wanted to! Maybe now I will. I would love to start one but I don't know how many people would join. Maybe next fall.

This book explains exactly what a "knitalong" is.
It tell some of the different kinds of knitalongs -
~ Knitting circles
~ Knitting Cafe's
~ Knit-ins
~ On-line knitalongs
~ Knitting blog knitalongs
~ Swaps
And it tell you how you can start your own knitalong.
And finally - how to find different groups and which one is good for you.

There is also a very good assortment of patterns to get your knitalong started.
I would love to do this as a knit along. Do it as a group, everyone doing one or two squares, put it together and give as a group gift for someone. Maybe a wedding gift or anniversary.

Thank you Netgalley and "Open Road Integrated Media" for sending me this e-book to read and review!

This new book from the creative team behind wheres me jumper contains
twelve original knitting patterns for motif jumpers. Each jumper takes its
inspiration from one of the author's favourite songs. There is a different look to
suit everyone, whatever your musical and fashion tastes.

But this is no ordinary knitting book. The emphasis here is on creativity and
breaking the rules. Choose your own colours and your own yarn. Make a
sweater that suits you. In Patterns to Play With, there are six graphic swatches
that you can adapt to design your own unique pattern. Who says spots don’t go
with stripes? Or that red and green should never be seen? Definitely not us.

Once you’ve chosen your pattern, it doesn’t have to end there. You can
customize and embellish your sweater in any way you can think of. And if you
don't want to make a sweater - don't! Learn how to transfer the motifs
to something smaller, like a cushion, or a hot water bottle cover or a scarf or a
skirt.

So get your knits out and stand out from the crowd!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR -
"Wheres me jumper" was formed in 2010 to knit bespoke sweaters and dresses
following customers’ own ideas. Beki Rymsza is owner and Knitter-in-Chief. Her
aim was to create a fresh, contemporary brand that modernized knitting as a
craft and offered shoppers a more personal and customized brand
experience. Knitting is an intricate process, there is something special and
personal about knitted items – no two are ever really the same and they have
just taken that concept one step further. See www.wheresmejumper.co.uk for
more details.

MY REVIEW -
This book has some great simple pattern ideas, but... I don't think I would use it for what it is supposed to be used for.
I don't think I would actually make any of these as sweaters (just not my style). I think I would use these for other things, like scarves, pot holders, washcloths, blankets, even purses! etc.
So, actually I love this book for that alone! The graphs seem very easy to follow and easy to adapt to any knitted item.

Here are a couple that I liked, but really I liked all of them. -

Thank you Netgalley and Anova Books for sending me this e-book to read and review!